Porsche Taycan outsells 911

The all-electric Porsche Taycan outsold the iconic Porsche 911 over a full year for the first time in 2021, both globally and in Australia.

The German sports car maker delivered 41,296 examples of its first EV around the world last year, eclipsing the 911 by almost 3000 sales (38,464).

It was a similar story in Australia, where the battery-powered sports sedan outsold the iconic sports car by 531 cars to 428, in the process becoming the second biggest seller for Porsche behind the Macan (2328 sales), which will offer EV power in its next generation from 2023.

That’s if you count the Cayenne Coupe (435) and wagon (402) separately, while the 718 Cayman notched up 147 sales, the 718 Boxster 109 sales and the Panamera just 48.

Strong Taycan demand helped Porsche double its 2020 deliveries globally, and the company expects more from its first EV in 2022 as new derivatives like the Taycan Cross Turismo hit their straps.

All up, Porsche hit a new global record, with 301,915 cars delivered around the world in a year when almost every other car-maker struggled to find enough microchips to keep their production lines fully staffed.

An 11 per cent jump on COVID-hit 2020, the delivery number saw China become Porsche’s biggest country for sales, ahead of the USA and Germany.

Porsche Cars Australia delivered 4428 vehicles in 2021 – 4.4 per cent up on 2020 (4243) – less than five per cent of the volume in its biggest market.

Chinese buyers picked up 95,671 Porsches last year – an eight per cent rise over the country’s record 2020 performance. The USA rose 22 per cent to close on China, with 84,657 sales.

Porsche’s global sales boom was largely SUV-led (a familiar statistic for Australians), with the Macan leading the way. The smaller of Porsche’s SUVs found 88,362 homes, while Porsche shifted 83,071 Cayennes.

It also sold 30,220 Panameras, while the 718 Boxster and Cayman twins were the slowest performers, finding 20,502 buyers.

About 40 per cent of European Porsche deliveries were either plug-in hybrids or battery-electric vehicles, and that rate is expected to rise this year.

“The overall result is very promising and shows the strategy to further electrify our fleet is working and is in line with demand and the preferences of our customers,” said Porsche’s board member for sales and marketing, Detlev von Platen.

“At the same time, unit sales are not the decisive factor for us. Rather, we want to stand for exclusive and unique customer experiences and will continue to expand these worldwide.”